Nightmares
by BlueLLama9
Summary: Sakura can't quite deal with what almost happened to Sasuke back on that bridge. Things get even more complicated when she's in a situation where the others might find out about her little predicament. Entry for SasuSaku month day nine, trauma.


Sakura did not want to admit it. It felt quite silly for a kunoichi such as herself to be affected by such trivial reactions. She would certainly give it not a second thought and it would pass on its own. Those were the things Sakura Haruno told herself, yet if she were to be honest, she'd know deep inside that seeing Sasuke Uchiha laying lifeless on that bridge did something to her.

A million nights ago, it seemed, she started having nightmares about it. She woke up shaking. Sometimes even screaming. The dreams themselves varied. Sometimes the events that actually took place replayed in her mind. Sometimes, it was her own bloody hands she'd look down on, as if she'd killed him. In reality though, Sasuke was not even dead, so she had to wonder what the hell was wrong with her, constantly remembering that one awful event.

As a result of this, Sakura became a lot more fearful for Sasuke, a lot more jumpy whenever they were doing the most trivial of things. Even oblivious airheads like Naruto realized something had happened, yet no one around her could pinpoint the source. It all came down to the fact that as a ninja, this was supposed to be something she dealt with easily.

Sakura's worries increased even more one morning when, for the first time in a long time, they would have to be out of the village on a mission. This time, however, she was more worried about the others finding out exactly how badly she was being affected.

The mission itself wasn't supposed to be hard. The only reason they had to be away for a while was because they had to gather some plants for the research department of the hospital, and they were found way outside of the village. Camping out with the rest of her team in Sakura's situation wouldn't be as easy.

"I'll take the first watch." she eagerly said as soon as their camp and newly gathered supplies were set.

No one argued with her. The journey had been tiring, and the weather rather warm. They were all simply eager to get some rest then proceed to go home the next day. Sakura's plan was to keep watch all night, and in the morning pretend she simply had not been tired enough to ask for a switch.

Sasuke was sleeping right next to where she'd decided to sit down. She could sense the chakra pulse of all of his resting teammates, and as always, Sasuke's was the most chaotic of the bunch, as if he couldn't escape his troubles even in his sleep. Sakura felt like she could understand that a little. Staring at the back of his neck, bits of messy dark hair sticking out in all directions around it, she noticed one of the scars left by Haku's senbon.

All she did was stare at it for hours, quite literally. Her tirnedness was very much present yet kept at bay by the memory of why she couldn't sleep and what she didn't want to vividly remember. It was so comforting to see Sasuke, safe, right in front of her. Then, as if sensing all of her thoughts directed towards him, he stirred and then propped himself up, quickly observing his surroundings.

"Sakura?" he asked when he turned towards her. "What are you still doing up?"

"I can last a little longer, Sasuke-kun, I'm not that tired. Go back to sleep."

He eyed her suspiciously and made it very clear he had no intention of doing what she had said. The idea of Sasuke being the one to switch with her as she fell asleep and started screaming in her sleep was terrifying. She couldn't let that happen. Her erratic thoughts were soon interrupted by a simple statement from Sasuke.

"Something's off with you."

Sasuke Uchiha confronting her about her silly emotional issues was the last thing she'd ever thought to expect.

"W-what are you talking about, Sasuke-kun? I'm fine." she attempted to smile.

Moving silently from where he previously slept, Sasuke crouched in front of Sakura, who was sitting with her back propped on a tree near the camp. It was very unlike him to be this confrontational about things that didn't directly involve him - even though, technically, this did - and his intense gaze made Sakura look away from him. He might not care, but Sakura knew for sure how observant the young Uchiha was.

"You're jumpy and anxious all the time, it shows. Every time I see you, you look like the fourth shinobi war is about to break out all around us." he said a little softer than Sakura had ever heard him speak.

Her anger was not directed at Sasuke. She felt nothing but affection at the fact that he was showing some degree of concern towards her. Her anger was directed entirely at herself, her inability to at least hide what she was feeling if she couldn't deal with it. All of that, however, made her feel very defensive, and so in an unexpected and shocking moment to both of them, she snapped at him of all people.

"Why do you even care? You've never bothered with me before, why start now?"

As soon as the words were spoken, their expressions mirrored each other, both looking equally surprised at her outburst. The words did have truth to them, Sakura realized, but that didn't make her angry with Sasuke either, just sad. To add to her surprise, Sasuke actually seemed to look away, a mix of shame and confusion on his face. He looked as if he was really thinking hard about her questions.

"I don't know, Sakura." he said, finally, with a sigh. "I just feel really annoyed when I see you like this. Hell if I can explain it."

What he said sounded more like worry than annoyance, but god knows the Uchiha wouldn't take well to that realization. Sakura wondered if she should tell him. It was embarrassing, and he already had a bad opinion of her skills as a shinobi...

"I thought you were dead." her voice sounded tight, and it was impossibly quiet.

Tears welled up in her eyes as soon as she spoke, remembering the feeling. Sasuke, cold as ice, laying stiff on the ground with needles sticking out from every part of his body. He had no pulse, no heartbeat. He was practically dead for a good time before regaining consciousness.

Sasuke looked confused for a minute, then he remembered what she was talking about, bringing his hand to touch the scar on his neck. Through her tears she could see his expression soften just a little.

"I know it's stupid." she continued. "and I know I should be able to deal with it, but I can't shake the fear, Sasuke-kun. I keep seeing it in my head all the time."

By this time she was silently crying, Sasuke looking at her with his almost unreadable eyes. She was aware he knew exactly what she was feeling like. Tales of what happened to the Uchiha clan were never far from her ears, and for a moment she felt even worse for crying over her own silly little drama.

"Is this why you don't want to sleep? Do you have nightmares about it?"

She nodded.

Without any warning Sasuke picked Sakura up, swirled around so that he could sit where she was previously keeping watch, and then sat her down in front of him. When she attempted to get up, confusion clear in her clumsy mannerisms, he pushed her back down on his chest, her back pressed hard against it.

"I'm the one you keep worrying about, right? Just try to sleep like this. You know it's me right next to you." he said in a tone that was similar to the one she used to recite facts from the ninja books she'd memorized.

Both of their bodies relaxed into each other eventually, and the warmth Sasuke provided her along with the comfort of knowing that yes, he was indeed right there, safe, made her feel better. Before she knew it, she was drifting away into a peaceful sleep. Her eyes were closed, breathing even and slow. Without realizing it she was snuggling closer to him, and very silently, in her half asleep state, she asked him without thinking:

"Sasuke-kun... do you still have nightmares?"

It was a thoughtless question, although she was much too tired to feel the full extent of the guilt. He never did answer, and he tensed up just a little. Sakura doze off soon enough, question forgotten, but she swore she could feel his arm wrap around her with a tight fist telling her he still does.


End file.
